Blank Slate No More

For an expansion club, the
inaugural season is obviously going to have ups and downs.

For this particular
expansion club, the ups continue. The milestones keep on coming.

The last four years have
been filled with meetings, meetings and more meetings. The goal at first
was to bring a team to Philadelphia. Mission accomplished. Then a team
name and crest that represented the region’s history and its fan base.
Mission accomplished. A technical staff and roster? Check. First win?
How about in dramatic fashion in front of nearly 35,000 fans at the Home
Opener?

Sure, the Union would like
to have a better record than 1-5-1 heading into Saturday’s match at
Houston. Who wouldn’t?

But it has been a season
of excitement thus far and only promises to get better when the Union
unveil PPL Park on June 27
against Seattle.

“It really has been a lot
of fun,” said Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz. “You
don’t get too many situations where you get to build it from scratch. We
had a blank slate when we started here. In my other two efforts in
Tampa and New York, the task was to turn around a franchise. I thought
that was much harder. Here, it was a blank slate with a stadium, a club
and a passionate fan base.”

That fan base has reveled
in the first two home games at Lincoln Financial Field – with combined
attendance of nearly 60,000 for a 3-2 win over D.C. United and a 1-1 tie
against FC Dallas.

One could argue that late
goals in each of the two home games were inspired by a fan base that
makes its unwavering support known for 90 minutes.

“We’ve been in touch with
the fans from the very beginning,” Sakiewicz said. “We’ve done
everything with the fans in mind. They’ve been behind everything we’ve
done and we appreciate it. We think we’re going to have a real homefield
advantage when we open PPL Park.”

Just uttering that phrase
was enough to make Sakiewicz break out a huge grin.

“It was a long time
coming,” Sakiewicz said. “I can’t wait. I’m really excited for this
game. The whole season has been fun. I’m enjoying every minute of it. I
hope the fans are, too. A whole lot of hard work went into this. For me,
this season has been great. I know we’ll have bigger and better things
to come.”

After the next three road
games at Houston, Chicago and Kansas City, the Union will finally be
able to step on the field in Chester on June 27. While every other
milestone has been important, this one will be the most fulfilling.

“We basically built this
stadium from nothing,” Sakiewicz said. “We had everything blank at the
time. It’s going to be a big deal for all us who have been involved from
the beginning.”

It’s a big deal in a lot
of ways. For the evolution of Major League Soccer and the sport in the
U.S. For an expansion team in the process of making its mark in the
region and in the league. And for a fan base that has waited years to
walk out and see their home pitch for the first time.